Morristown Clubs
Morristown Clubs
In the 1920s, social clubs were immensely popular as a way to socialize outside of work and the home. For women especially, who were discouraged from spending time independently outside of their role as homemaker, clubs afforded women freedom and social power they may never have been able to achieve individually. In Morristown, residents participated in various groups ranging from fraternal orders to church volunteer clubs, academic book clubs, gardening organizations, choral societies and beyond.
The Coleridge-Taylor Choral Society was founded in 1925 by Katie Kelly (pictured fourth from the left, back row) and named after Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, an Anglo-African English composer, conductor and political activist. One reporter commented that their performances “did considerable credit to Morristown, and should have been patronized by all who own to a [sic] love of music.” (Jerseyman 1926Apr15:4)
The exclusive Morristown Club was founded in 1884. Each new member had to be “introduced” by an existing member, contribute initiation fees of $75 dollars and an annual fee of $35 (roughly $1,060 and $500 in 2022); women were not permitted membership until 1983. Members had access to a full-time cook, a bar, card room, billiard room, newspaper lounge and a library complete with the latest periodicals. The article shown above details the Club’s move from South Street to 27 Elm Street, a move considered due to the “[changing] character of the neighborhood… South Street is becoming more and more of a business thoroughfare…[Elm Street] will fulfill the requirements of convenience, accommodations and comfort sought for.” The Club can still be found at 27 Elm Street today.
The Morristown Garden Club was founded in 1913 and aimed to establish “promotion of garden culture, by the exchange of ideas on all matters pertaining to the garden.” By 1920 the club had 69 members and held 10 meetings a year. An impressive list of accomplishments throughout the decade included awards won at the New York International Flower Show, opening a booth at the Hoboken Train station to collect flowers for hospitals and shut-ins in the city, and running several campaigns including those advocating for the promotion of wildflower conservation, and for the eradication of mosquitoes, tent caterpillars, and billboards.
Several members’ gardens were featured in the book Beautiful Gardens in America by Louise Shelton, including the one seen above of “Mt. Kemble Farm”. A copy of the book is available for viewing at the NJHGC, and for checkout from the nonfiction shelves on the library’s main floor.
The Morristown Directory included various clubs, organizations, fraternal orders, associations and societies. Here is a page from the 1929 directory, listing several organizations available for residents to join.
Phyllis Wheatley Unit News Clippings
The Jerseyman, Sept 2, 1920 and November 22, 1920, Newspapers Collection
The Phyllis Wheatley Unit was named for Phillis Wheatley, the 18th-century African-born poet. The club was formed in 1921 under the already-established Women’s Community Club, which also shared their 85 South Street headquarters. The group was a byproduct of the Progressive era of the 20th century, in which community service programs were established to combat the ills facing many immigrants and poor residents.
Modern Mondays was a women’s group founded in 1921 at the Morristown Library by twelve women looking “to do a little serious and worthwhile reading”. Members of the club reported on an extensive list of subjects such as history, plays, social issues, contemporary literature and the classics.
Membership dues were $1 a month, most of which went to pay for “a guest speaker of importance” who would speak at the club. Local librarians were considered honorary members “as a mark of our close association with the libraries”--as members, women belonging to Modern Mondays were allowed to check out materials indefinitely for club use. The women were also expected to write drama and poetry of their own, such as the above poem written by Irene Watts in 1922. What is unique about Modern Mondays as a club is that it afforded women an academic space in which they were allowed to exist and flourish, at a time when most women were discouraged from higher academic pursuits.